Billy Hurley III

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Billy Hurley III
Tarheel Tour
Professional wins3
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentCUT: 2017
PGA ChampionshipT22: 2016
U.S. OpenT48: 2014
The Open ChampionshipT64: 2014

Willard Jeremiah "Billy" Hurley III (born June 9, 1982) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour.[1][2]

Early life

Hurley grew up in Leesburg, Virginia, the oldest of four children of Bill and Cheryl Hurley.[3] He attended Loudoun County High School.[4] During his senior year in 2000, he was one of 17 golfers named honorable mention All-Met (Washington, D.C. metro area)[5] He was named all-state in Virginia.[3]

Naval career

Hurley is a 2004 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Quantitative Economics.[6] He also was named Academic All-American.[3]

He was commissioned an

Mayport, Florida, where he was a combat electronic division officer.[4] He then taught economics for two years at the Naval Academy. From 2007 to 2009, he served a tour of duty in the Persian Gulf aboard the destroyer USS Chung-Hoon.[8]

College and amateur career

As an amateur, Hurley was a member of the victorious American team in the 2005 Walker Cup, held at the Chicago Golf Club. The Walker Cup is a competition held biennially that matches the top American amateurs against the best of Great Britain and Ireland.[9][10] He was also captain of the 2004 Palmer Cup team, an annual competition named for Arnold Palmer that matches American collegiate golfers against European college/university players.[4]

Hurley won seven collegiate golf titles at Navy, was named 2004 Patriot League Player of the Year,[9] and earned the award for the top college golfer and sportsman (the Byron Nelson Award). He was ranked the sixth-best amateur in the world.[11]

Professional career

2011 season

On the 2011 Nationwide Tour, Hurley's best finish was second place at the

Nationwide Tour Championship in the 25th money list position and his T18 position earned him his PGA Tour card.[13]

2012 season

Hurley played 27 events on the

AT&T National.[12] He finished 150th in the FedEx Cup, earning a $32,000 bonus.[14] However, Hurley finished 151st on the money list and therefore he missed conditional status on the 2013 PGA Tour by $165.[15]

2013 season

At 2012

Web.com Tour Finals
and finished 26th to earn his PGA Tour card for 2014.

2014 season

Hurley began the 2013–14 season with a tie for ninth place at the October 2013

On March 2, 2014 Hurley recorded the fourth top-10 of his PGA Tour career with a fifth-place finish at

Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial on May 25[12] followed by a T-37 to earn $25,420 at the Memorial Tournament on June 1.[12]

On the following day, June 2, Hurley qualified to play in his first-ever U.S. Open (and first major) as he birdied three of his last four holes to finish in the top four of the 36-hole Monday qualifying tournament held in Rockville, Maryland.[19][20] At the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, out of 156 golfers entered, Hurley was one of only 67 to make the cut and play through the weekend. He finished the tournament T-48.[12]

Hurley posted another top 10 on June 29, finishing T-8 at the Quicken Loans National at Congressional Country Club to earn $188,500.[12]

On July 6, 2014, Hurley, on the strength of a second-round 63 and a third-round 67, took a two-shot lead into the final round of the

Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake. At The Open, he again made the cut in a major and finished the tournament T-64.[12]

Taking three weeks off following The Open Championship, Hurley missed the cut in his next two tournaments, then his 2014 season ended with a T-57 finish at the

Deutsche Bank Championship. He finished the season with career-high winnings of $1,145,299 with 17 cuts made in 26 starts.[12]

2015 season

Hurley missed the cut by one shot in each of his first two tournaments of the 2014–15 season. In his third tournament, he held a two-stroke lead after 36 holes in the CIMB Classic after consecutive rounds of five-under-par.[23] He finished T-8 to win $189,000.[24] After missing four cuts in his first six events of calendar year 2015, he had his best tournament of the calendar year March 15 at the Valspar Championship, finishing T-17 and winning $77,206.[25]

After his strong finish at the Valspar Championship, Hurley struggled, missing the cut at four of his next five tournaments. In June he finished at T-18 in the

Barracuda Championship.[26] For the 2015 season, through August 23, he had played in 28 events, making the cut in 14 and earning $591,450.[26]

Because Hurley did not finish the season ranked in the top 125 players (he was ranked 136th)

Web.com Tour Finals but did not regain his PGA Tour card and started the 2015–16 season with conditional status.[26]

2016 season

Playing a combination of PGA Tour and Web.com Tour events, through 11 PGA Tour events he made five cuts and totaled $80,707 in winnings on that tour. His highest finish to that point was T-41; he missed the cut in the

Quicken Loans National, his 105th PGA Tour event. He was 198th in the FedEx Cup and 607th in the world rankings and was playing in the tournament on a sponsor's exemption.[28] By winning the tournament, he qualified for the 2016 Open Championship; however, he skipped the event to attend his sister's wedding.[29]

He attained his best-ever showing in a major tournament on July 31, 2016 by finishing T-22 at the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club.[12]

On September 5, 2016 he posted his second top-10 finish of the season with a T-8 at the

Deutsche Bank Championship, earning $212,500.[12] Heading into the tournament he was ranked 77th in the FedEx Cup standings and needed a good showing to finish in the FedEx Cup standings' top 70 and continue on to the next tournament, which he attained, ending the tournament 51st in FedEx Cup points.[12]

For the season, Hurley ended up with one win and earnings of $1,770,400, good for 55th place.[12]

2017 season

After finishing T-51 in the

SBS Tournament of Champions followed by a T-20 in the Sony Open in Hawaii, earning $62,571.[12] Playing in the Masters Tournament for the first time, he missed the cut by one shot. In The Players Championship, he finished T-41 to earn $36,750. On May 7, he got his first top-10 of the year with a T-8 at the Wells Fargo Championship to earn $210,000.[12]

Hurley struggled in the second half of the season; in his last seven tournaments, he missed the cut five times along with finishes of 63rd and 68th. He ended 146th on the PGA Tour money list.[12]

2018 season

Hurley posted a T-25 finish on October 29, 2017 at the Sanderson Farms Championship, winning $33,540, in what was his best finish of the season. In 27 events played during the 2017–18 season, he missed the cut 19 times. He ended the season ranked 201st in the FedEx Cup standings after a T-41 in the Wyndham Championship on August 19, his third-best finish after a T-34 at the Barbasol Championship on July 22.[2][12]

This was his final year for the tournament exemption gained from his win in the 2016 Quicken Loans Invitational. Hurley's finish meant he only had past champion status for the 2018–19 season.

In February 2018 Hurley ran for president of the PGA Tour's Players Advisory Council, but he was defeated by Jordan Spieth.[30]

2019 season

Hurley played in the PGA Tour 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship Oct. 25-28, finishing T-54.[31] On March 24, 2019 he posted his best finish to date in well over a year with a T-30 at the Valspar Championship, earning $39,817.[26]

He earned a top 10 finish on April 28 at the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event, combining with Peter Malnati for score of 19 under and a T-9 finish out of 78 teams.[26]

Personal life

Hurley is active in several charities and religious organizations including: Birdies for the Brave, a military outreach initiative sponsored by the PGA Tour;[32] World Gospel Outreach, a children's camp in Honduras; Ark Children's House, an orphanage in Ecuador; and Adoption Advocates International, which operates an orphanage in Ethiopia (Layla House) where he adopted his son, Jacob.[6]

Hurley resides in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife Heather, sons Will and Jacob, and his daughter Madison.[9][33]

In 2017, Hurley hosted his inaugural charity golf event, Billy Hurley III and The Brave Golf Tournament, at the Naval Academy Golf Course in Annapolis. Proceeds from the event were to go to three beneficiaries: the Anchor Scholarship Foundation, which provides college tuition for family members of surface warfare personnel; to fund a junior golf scholarship administered by the Middle-Atlantic PGA (MAPGA); and to the Naval Academy Athletic Association and directed toward improvements at the Naval Academy Golf Course.[34]

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Jun 26, 2016
Quicken Loans National
66-65-67-69=267 −17 3 strokes Fiji Vijay Singh

NGA Hooters Tour wins (1)

  • 2010 Terry Moore Ford Open

Tarheel Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 Oct 12,
2006
Cedarwood Classic 68-67-69=204 −9 1 stroke United States John McAllister, United States Jay McLuen

Playoff record

Web.com Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2013
United Leasing Championship
United States Joe Affrunti, Australia Ashley Hall,
United States Ben Martin
Martin won with par on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament CUT
U.S. Open T48 CUT CUT
The Open Championship T64
PGA Championship T22
Tournament 2019
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship
U.S. Open T72
The Open Championship
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2015 2016 2017
The Players Championship CUT T41
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 2016
Championship
Match Play
Invitational
T36
Champions
  Did not play

"T" = Tied

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

See also

References

  1. ^ Broughton, David (October 8, 2013). "Naval Academy grad Hurley excited for return to PGA Tour". Capital Gazette. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Ryan, Shane (August 19, 2018). "The hidden, merciless drama of the Wyndham Championship". Golf Digest.
  3. ^ a b c Balicki, Ron (September 28, 2004). "2004: A golfer and a gentleman". Golfweek.
  4. ^ a b c Orton, Kathy (June 1, 2011). "Naval Academy graduate Hurley chases PGA Tour dream". The Washington Post.
  5. ^ "Golf: All-Met – Spring 2000". The Washington Post. 2000.
  6. ^ a b "PGA Tour profile – Billy Hurley III". PGA Tour. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  7. ^ "Former Navy lieutenant Billy Hurley III earns PGA Tour card". Golfweek. October 30, 2011.
  8. ^ Strege, John (January 10, 2014). "Billy Hurley III visits former ship at Pearl Harbor". Golf Digest.
  9. ^ a b c "About Billy". Billy Hurley III official website. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  10. ^ Rodgers, Dan (July 20, 2011). "Former Navy golfer Billy Hurley III breaking through on Nationwide Tour". The Baltimore Sun.
  11. ^ "Sponsors Exemption Granted to Former Navy Lieutenant Bill Hurley". Archived from the original on November 7, 2011.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "PGA Tour results – Billy Hurley III". PGA Tour. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  13. ^ Milne, Doug (October 30, 2011). "Duke claims Nationwide Tour Championship title". PGA Tour.
  14. ^ "FedExCup Bonus Money – 2012". PGA Tour. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  15. ^ Rude, Jeff (November 15, 2012). "Golfweek: PGA Tour player of the year race no contest". USA Today.
  16. ^ "eGolf Tour Players Secure Eight PGA Tour Cards for 2013; Twenty-Two Players Earn Full Web.com Tour Status". Golf Club Business. December 4, 2012. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  17. ^ Gray, Will (March 2, 2014). "Results finally show for Hurley with top-10 finish". Golf Channel. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  18. ^ Lukat, Carl (March 5, 2014). "Hurley goes low at Honda Classic". Loudoun Times.
  19. ^ "Billy Hurley III qualifies for U.S. Open; former Navy golfer headed to Pinehurst". The Washington Times. June 2, 2014.
  20. ^ Svrluga, Barry (June 2, 2014). "At Woodmont Country Club, players from different backgrounds qualify for U.S. Open". The Washington Post.
  21. ^ "Billy Hurley keeps lead at Greenbrier". ESPN. Associated Press. July 5, 2014.
  22. ^ "PGA Tour Leaderboard – The Greenbrier Classic". Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  23. ^ "Ryan Moore, Kevin Na tied for lead". ESPN. Associated Press. November 1, 2014.
  24. ^ "CIMB Classic – Leaderboard". ESPN.
  25. ^ "Valspar Championship – Leaderboard". ESPN.
  26. ^ a b c d e f "Billy Hurley III – Season". PGA Tour. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  27. ^ "Billy Hurley III – Statistics". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  28. ^ Martin, Sean (June 27, 2016). "Hurley's victory might be story of year in golf". PGA Tour.
  29. ^ "Hurley chooses his sister over The Open Championship". PGA Tour. June 28, 2016.
  30. ^ "Jordan Spieth overcomes attack ad spoof, becomes chairman of PGA Tour's Player Advisory Council".
  31. ^ "Sanderson Farms Championship – 2019 Leaderboard". PGA Tour.
  32. ^ "About Us". Birdies for the Brave. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  33. ^ McCabe, Jim (February 8, 2013). "Hurley loses sponsor exemption after arrival". Golfweek.
  34. ^ "Billy Hurley III hosting inaugural charity golf tournament". Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.

External links